hatch



E. G. HATCH.

LIFTING JACK.

APPLICATION FILED IuLYe, 191s.

E. G. HATCH.

LIFTING JACK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6.1918.

l ,32 1,823. Patented N ov. 18, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

GX15? j E. G. HATCH.

LIFTING JACK.

APPLiCATlON FILED JULY 6,1918.

1 ,321,823, Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Mmm!! iII l i l.

EDWIN G. HATCH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LIFTING-JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N0V 1S 1919 Application filed July 6, 1918. Serial N o. 243,576.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, EDWIN G. HATCH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefullmproveing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in lifting jacks such as have a screw as the liftingv member, and separable nut parts engaging the screw and connected with means for carrying the load to be raised. The object of my invention is to produce a simple and powerful jack of this kind in which the nut parts are arranged to move on a line essentially perpendicular to the lifting screw to engage or disenga'ge the screw.` This is important as by this larrangei'nent they yare not likely to accidentally engage the screw and break or impair the threads of either the screw or nut. Another important object of my invention is to provide a manually operated push button or push buttons located at some convenient part of the jack, which can be pushed inward so as to cause a separation of the nut parts from the lifting screw when desired. By this means `l get a very convenient mechanism by which the screw can be engaged or disengaged, and the shoe or rod engaging part of the jack quickly raised or lowered as desired. Another object of my invention is to provide a simplelever mechanism actuated by the push buttons to separate the nut members. Other objects of my invention are to better and simplify jack construction, and these details will be hereinafter pointed out.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forminga part of this speciiication, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a broken vertical longitudinal section of the jack embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation of the base portion of the jack and the connected operating handle.

Fig. 4 is a plan and side elevation of the extension to the operating handle.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 6 showing a modified means for operating the nut parts.

`Fig-.61s a broken axial elevation showing ment in Lifting-Jacks, of which the follow-p a modilied construction of the lever mechanism for moving the nut parts.

Fig. 7 is a cross section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8,' and Fig. 8 is a broken axial elevation through a part of the jack showing another modification for moving the nut parts.

The jack is provided with a hollow standard 10 having a suitable base 11 from which it is preferably separable as shown, and the base is also preferably provided with a plug 12 which screws into the bottom of the base and carries a bearing boss 13 in the center and an annular bearing1 rib 14 to support the .lifting screw 15 and the 1gfear wheel 16 which operates it.

The lifting screw as usual in jacks, is arranged vertically in the standard 10 and is secured to the gear wheel 16, and these members 15 and 16 can be supported on any suitable bearing other than that shown, if desired.

The gear wheel 1b is rotatable by means of a pinion 17 on the operating handle 18, and the latter is journaled in a sleeve 19 which screws into a hollow boss 22 on the base 1l, as shown at 21 in Fig. 1. For convenience the operating handle 18 is provided with a foldable extension, and to this end the member`18 connects by a universal joint 23 with the extension handle 24 so that the latter may be placed in the most convenient position and rotated to turn the member 18, pinion 17, gear wheel 16 and screw 15.. The foldable handle may be constructed in Vany approved way, but I have shown the universal joint 23 connected with a rod 25 which is hinged as shown at 26 to another rod 27, and this connects with the cross rod 28 havingI folding hand members 29 at the ends. Thus the handle can be straightened our for use or folded up for economy of space, and the universal joint permits the handle to be placed in the most convenient position for use. i

The screw 15 is engaged by separable nut parts 30 which instead of swinging in an arc as is usually the case with acks of this character, move bodily and in a plane essentially perpendicular to the axis of the screw 15. Thus all parts of the nut members simultaneously engage or disengage the screw as the case may be. These nut members are preferably arranged within a housing 31 which moves ,longitudinally in the standard 10, and suitable springs 32, leaf springs Vbeing shown although others .can be used, normally push the nut parts into engagement with the screw. ''Ihelhousing .31 connects as shown at 33 with the tube 34 which projects upward through the top of the standard and connects with the shoe 36 on which the load` to be Vlifted rests. 'Any suitable shoe can be used, and I have shown it provided with a lateral and bent extension 36 which is vnot claimed, but which can be used as a handle or to 'engage a part ef the loadto be lifted. The tube 34 is suitably guided, and as shown it slides through a cap 37 on the top of the standard 10.

Within the tube 34 is a sliding member 38 which is also preferably a tube, and incloses the upper part of the screw 15, this member being reduced at the top as shown at 39 and extending into a cavity 40 in the shoe 35, the parts being arranged so that the top of the member 39 will be a little below7 the surface of the shoe 35 so as not to engage the rod to be raised. The lower end of the member 38 rests on the top portions 41 of the levers 42 which are arranged on opposite sides of the screw, and in pairs, scissors fashion, the two members of each pair of levers being Vpivoted together as shown at .43 onvbrackets 44 attached to the tube 34, al-

though they can be supported in any convenient way. The lower ends of the levers 42v engage the shoulders 45 on the nut parts 30:(see Fig. 2), and thus when the member 38 is depressed the lower portions of the levers 42separate and push the nut parts'out of engagement with the lifting screw and against-the tension of the springs 32 which push the nut parts back intoV engagement when pressure on the member 38 is removed. I prefer to use a plurality of pairs of levers 42 .on each side of the screw so as to get a jily. slide up over the screw threads.

more even pressure on the nut parts, and'to this end a second4 pair of levers is arranged below .I the upper pair as shown in Fig. 1, and a link`46 having a lower head 47 rides on'the upper ends of the lower levers so that both pairtact in unison. This link is supported lon the pivot of the upper levers. It

will be seen, therefore, that when it is desired to move the nut members quickly, one canV merely push down on the button 39 thus spreading the levers 42 and separating the nutl parts from the lifting screw. The tube 34 and the nut parts can then be quickly moved up or do-wnas desired, and when the pressure on the pushv button 39k is released the springs 32 force the nut parts back into engagement w-ith the screw. If it is desired to merelyV raise the nutmembers, it is not necessary to operate either the jack or the push button, as the shoe can simply be lifted, and owing to the ratchet shape of the teeth ofthe screwf15, the nut parts will eas- It is obvious that there may be many modifications of this push button and lever idea of separating the nut parts, and to make this more evident I have in Figs. 5 to 8 shown some modifications, but the principle is the same. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the nut parts are separated by cam levers 42*l which are pivoted at 43 like the levers 42 already described, and the lower cam surfaces 48 of the levers ride against pins 49 on the nut parts 30. The cam levers are arranged on opposite sides of the screw so as to engage opposite sides of the nut, and the upper end portions of each pair connect with oppositely moving` rods 50 which extend outward through the standards 10 and connect with push buttons or hand members 51 through the medium ofy studs 52 slidingin holes 53 in the standard l0. It will be seen that by this arrangement one can grip the two hand members 51 and push them inward, thus swinging out the levers 42n and separating the nut parts. It will be noticed that 'by using the cam levers 42 or their equivalent, I get a. very even movement of the nut parts on a line perpendicular to the screw, as the force is applied so constantly in the same straight line; whereas by the use of the levers 42 the movement may not be quite so smooth, as the points of the bearing change somewhat.

VIn Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown another means of moving the levers 42, and here the upper members 54 of the levers are separated by a taper plug 55 which is secured to a vertically movable shaft 56 mounted in a bracket 57 on the inner side of the tube 54. This arrangement obtains on opposite sides of the screw, and the upper end of each rod 56 has a head 58 inclined as shown in Fig. 8 and engaging a correspondingly inclined end 59 of the yoke 60 the members of which slide in bushings 61 in the standard 10, and the upper portion 62 of the yoke has a suitable button 63. By pushing this in the rods 56 are depressed and the levers opened so as to separate the nut members.

It will be seen that I have devised a simple powerful jack in which the nut members move in a plane essentially perpendicular to the lifting screw, that said uut members are separated by a very simple and reliable mechanism, and that the whole jack can be easily made and assembled.

I have referred to the push buttons for actuating the mechanism which moves the nut parts, and by this term I mean to include any external manually operated devices which will operate on the nutparts as stated.

I claim:

1. A lifting jack having a rotatable lifting screw, separable nut members movable perpendicular to and engaging tbescrew on opposite sides, movable levers for separating the nut members, and a push button mechau nism for operating the levers.

2. A lifting screw comprising a standard having a rotatable screw therein, separable nut members moving perpendicular to and into and out of engagement with the screw, swinging levers arranged in pairs to engage and separate the nut members, and manually operated means for actuating the levers.

3. A lifting jack comprising a standard, a rotatable screw therein, separable nut members movable in a plane essentially per pendicular to the screw to engage and disengage the screw, hinged levers arranged in pairs to engage and separate the nut mem bers, and a manually operated push button mechanism to actuate the levers.

4. A lifting jack comprising a hollow standard, a rotatable lifting screw therein, spring pressed nut members movable in a plane essentially perpendicular to the screw to engage and disengage the screw, a lever mechanism to separate the nut members, and a push button external of the jack and connected with the levers to actuate them.

5. A lifting jack comprising a hollow standard, a rotatable lifting screw therein, a housing within the standard, nut parts sliding laterally in the housing to engage and disengage the lifting screw, a tube projecting from the housing through the top of the standard to carry a load, a level.l mechanism to .separate the nut parts, and a push button mechanism to actuate the said levers.

6. A lifting jack comprising a hollow standard, a rotatable lifting screw therein, a tube projecting from the standard and adapted to carry a load, separable nut members movable with the aforesaid tube and adapted to engage and disengage the screw, said nut members being arranged to move in and out with relation to the screw in a plane perpendicular to the screw, levers adapted to swing outward from the middle portion or' the standard and separate the nut members in a horizontal plane, and a push button mechanism for actuating the levers.

EDWIN G. HATCH.

Witnesses:

LILLIE VREELAND,

M. F. RILEY. 

